The Iraqi vehicles varried in color (1991). Some were a grayish sand color, some were sand, some were a tan. On top of that add weathering and wear and tear.

I think he's talking about the newly supplied equipment-- not the DS-DS or OIF Saddam Hussein era stuff. The current US supplied equipment is CARC painted as Gino mentioned above. Tamiya Buff is indeed a good color choice for replicating it, although for some shade differences I'd add a touch of Tamiya Yellow. VR, Russ

1991 isn’t modern? 😁 Y’all trying to say that Gino and I were on Grant’s staff at Appomattox?

Well, if 1991 is Modern, then I served with Washington at Valley Forge. In the great scheme of things, 1991 was 27 years ago. Hardly “modern”. In the 30 years I was in (75-2006) I went from a WWII steel pot to a “modern” Kevlar helmet, four different combat uniforms, an entire generation of tanks, and a completely new fighting vehicle concept. I think you could effectively state the “modern” US Army is earmarked by the “Stryker doctrine”. That’s when we went from heavy armor formations to more lethal integrated light formations. So no, 1991 was not “modern” by today’s standard. You can now join the rest of us in the rubbish pile of history! VR, Russ

P.S.— But if it was really “modern” the Iraqi army wouldn’t be driving it around —the concept behind the M113 is nearly 60 years old now!

I see no mention of FS33446 in this thread. Mig and AK real colors calls FS33446 "modern" sand. Olive-drab.com calls this color out as the initial sand introduced during ODS through today (no mention of FS33531). Hataka calls FS33446 out as ODS era and FS33531 as OIF/OEF.

I see no mention of FS33446 in this thread. Mig and AK real colors calls FS33446 "modern" sand. Olive-drab.com calls this color out as the initial sand introduced during ODS through today (no mention of FS33531). Hataka calls FS33446 out as ODS era and FS33531 as OIF/OEF.

So...which FS# is correct for ODS and which is correct for OIF/OEF?

Well.. I think the original poster was asking about Tamiya colors. And not for OIF/OEF but for "modern" Iraqi vehicles. And the colors have seemed to get lighter since the initial OIF/OEF deployments, especially on FMS equipment. VR, RussVR, Russ

No idea where they get FS33446 for modern CARC Tan. It is way too dark if you ask me.

As I said, FS33531 is almost a perfect match to actual vehicles I have served on. The color has not changed since the mid-90s either. It was the same in the early days of OIF/OEF in '03 as it is now. It does fade pretty quickly in the desert sun and looks lighter under bright sun though.

For ODS, '90-'91, the color painted on vehicles that were coming into Saudi Arabia was not an FS color, but a locally purchased sandy-colored paint that was quickly applied to them. The paint was not very durable and chipped off quickly. It was also a more brown color than the current military applied sand color. Testors Army/Marines Gulf Armor Sand represents this color well.

....For ODS, '90-'91, the color painted on vehicles that were coming into Saudi Arabia was not an FS color, but a locally purchased sandy-colored paint that was quickly applied to them. The paint was not very durable and chipped off quickly. It was also a more brown color than the current military applied sand color. Testors Army/Marines Gulf Armor Sand represents this color well.

Yes, Oops— meant the tan paint has gotten lighter since DS/DS, not OIF like I said in the earlier post—my mistake. like I said I’ve been around since Washington crossed the Delaware (seems like it anyway!) and I sometimes mix my wars together by accident. The European shades of CARC paint became available in the mid 80s, but Tan was not a widely available CARC color at the time since it wasn’t in as much demand (I did CARC testing at DPG for a short time on an M1 prototype in 1983-4 which was destroyed during testing).

As Gino said, Tan CARC wasn’t fully available in the quantities required during DS/DS, which was a largely “come as you are” conflict, and paint was scrounged from all sources to quickly equip DS/DS units. On the other hand, OIF had the “modern” lighter tan CARC widely available. The “modern” CARC paint is definitely a lighter shade than those found in DS/DS—jeeze— I almost typed “OIF” again!! Gotta stop mixing up my conflicts. Next thing I’ll be confusing Panama and Grenada! Maybe I’ve lived through too many of them— they’re starting to blend together! VR, Russ

I hear you Russ. I now have a Major working with me who was born when I was in high school. We are quickly becoming the "old breed".

In 1998, when I was in my War College course, we used to joke about the "retired" instructors, calling them the "Gray Beards". Now "I are one". Dr. Swain, who I knew quite well, wrote the book "Lucky War the 7th Army in Desert Storm". And that was when that operation was the one we studied back then-- and he had a full gray beard. It's an eye opening experience to wake up and realize one morning while looking in the mirror that your beard is now truly gray! VR, Russ

I hear you Russ. I now have a Major working with me who was born when I was in high school. We are quickly becoming the "old breed".

In 1998, when I was in my War College course, we used to joke about the "retired" instructors, calling them the "Gray Beards". Now "I are one". Dr. Swain, who I knew quite well, wrote the book "Lucky War the 7th Army in Desert Storm". And that was when that operation was the one we studied back then-- and he had a full gray beard. It's an eye opening experience to wake up and realize one morning while looking in the mirror that your beard is now truly gray! VR, Russ

I remember a birthday card showing a gray kitten on the cover. Inside it says, "See? The more gray hairs you have, the cuter you look." Actually domestic cats often have gray fur which turns to dark gray or black as they reach adulthood.

So for Iraqi older-model camouflage, it's basically any shade of light tan?

It’s encouraging to me about getting older and still having this hobby after many decades. I’m also encouraged by the growing number of senior retired military officers and NCOs, and droves of other veterans who enjoy building models. A friend and fellow aircraft and car modeler (who was a retired USAF MSG)passed away last year, and I met his Brother at the funeral. It turns out he is a retired USMC BG. He told me he was an avid Armor model builder and has been since he was a kid. I think the days of hanging out in the “Hobby closet” are over! VR, Russ